Good Thing Gone Bad
by krazybanana
Summary: Sequel to Back to Ruin a Good Thing, Brennan and Booth's relationship is in trouble but Sully keeps butting in to stop the two of them fixing things, so Brennan, with help from Angela, decides to use that to their advantage
1. Trouble in Paradise

**This is the sequel to Back to Ruin a Good Thing, so those of you who haven't read the first one and don't understand, that's why**

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Booth moved towards Brennan's bed, about an hour after Angela had left her side. Brennan was sleeping, and when she felt the footsteps, her eyes fluttered open, and she smiled when she saw Booth. Booth smiled and pressed his lips to her forehead. Brennan smiled at the gesture.

"Booth, even though I was a bit confused last time I saw you, from the amnesia, I would just like to let you know that... Sully chose to leave me, and you have never abandoned me. It took me a while to realise it, but, you're the only person for me. Sully was nice, but he, just sailed off into the sunset, didn't even think to stay with me, and I know you'd never do that".

Booth could hardly believe his ears. He hadn't expected Brennan to be so definite, so soon. He had hoped, of course, but this was incredible. And suddenly, he had the courage to tell Brennan something he wished he had thought to tell her four years ago, before Michael, before David, before Will Hastings, before Sully had even lost his previous partner.

"Bones, I know that you don't like to believe in things that can't be measured in a beaker, things like God..."

"Booth", Brennan interjected. "God is just a non-existent symbol for people to worship so that they believe that they will get into heaven, which, by the way, is a mythical place".

"ANYWAY, Bones, as I was saying, there are also things that you can't measure, but you know that they exist, things like love".

"Love is just a release of endorphins, it doesn't really exist, Booth", Brennan pointed out.

Booth's face turned red. "Well, Bones, I happen to believe in love because I know that what I feel for you is different to a partner relationship, and I know it's more than just a release of endorphins. What I feel for you is... well, it IS love, Bones. I love you".

Bones looked at his earnest face, and scoffed. "Booth, were you listening? Love doesn't exist. It's like your imaginary feeling, just like God is your imaginary friend".

If Bones had stabbed him, it couldn't have hurt more. He had just poured his heart out to her, and the way she repaid him was to scoff at him, crush his heart in an instant. And suddenly Booth felt only anger towards his partner.

"So if you're saying that love doesn't exist, then, logically..." Booth spat out, barely hiding his scorn when he reached 'logically'. "Then I can't love you. Does that sound about right?"

Bones raised an eyebrow. "There's no need to be snappy, Booth. It's a fact. Just like when I told you that talking to a headstone is useless, because the people are dead".

"Well, maybe if you feel that way, then I don't love you, and if I don't love you, then maybe I don't have any feelings for you at all", Booth yelled, not caring who heard, and indeed, a small crowd of doctors, nurses and other visitors had crowded around the door, watching the commotion.

"Well, maybe you should just leave then" Brennan yelled, she too was oblivious to the crowd outside the door. "I'll have Angela or Cam let you know when I'm back at work. Just LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Booth stormed out of the room, knocking into several doctors and nurses, his eyes beginning to fill with tears, but he was determined not to show it, for fear that once he started he would be unable to stop, and the fact that he did not want to appear weak in front of all these people. He reached his car in the parking lot, got in, and rested his head on the steering wheel. Hot tears streamed from his eyes, as he thought about Bones. His Bones. The woman who had made him so happy these last couple of months.

He also thought about Sully. How he had started all this. How if he had never returned, then Bones and Angela never would have been in that car accident, and this may never have happened. It may have eventually happened, but now that Sully was back, his Bones may fall into his arms after a break up. She had assured him this would never happen, but he couldn't help but think that she would automatically turn to him, and once she was in the relationship again, she may be less likely to give it up.

And he sat there, head on the steering wheel, looking at the floor, for several hours, until his phone beeped, a text message tone. Thinking it might be Brennan, he snatched it up, and his face fell slightly when he saw the name of the caller ID at the top. Rebecca, reminding him to pick up Parker from the park, as Rose had to leave early that day.

He turned on the engine, as he pulled away from the woman he loved more than he could say.

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Hey people... reviews would be great.......... I want to get at least a couple before I post the next chapter

But a note to my friend, RB, you can't bug me like you bugged Elli, or I won't count them

Reviews rock!!!!!!!! Be kind and press the little green button just below this, its really not that hard. I accept anonymous reviews, all reviews are great.


	2. Realisation

**New chapter up, thanks for all the reviews**

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Bones leant back into her pillows, and thought about what she had just done. She had seen the look on his face as he stormed out. She suddenly realised what she had done. She turned over onto her side, so that the crowds at the door could not see her face. She had not meant to hurt Booth; she just enjoyed arguing with him, trying to make him see through irrational ideas, like love and God.

But... all she had done was make him think that what they had together wasn't worth anything to her. She had badly hurt one of the most important people in her life. She had never felt happier than when she was with him, and now she had ruined it. Her and her big mouth.

Tears fell from her eyes, wetting the pillow beneath her head; both she and Booth were unaware that at that exact moment, both were crying over their loss.

The next day, Brennan was discharged from the hospital, and Angela was there to drive her home. Angela took one look at Brennan's face, took it her dishevelled hair, puffy, red eyes, and grabbed her friend in a tight hug.

"Sweetie, what happened? Why isn't Booth here to pick you up? I mean, I'm perfectly happy to pick you up, but shouldn't Booth be here so that you two can home and enjoy yourselves? Why are your eyes all red? What did you do?" Angela rattled off in one breath.

Brennan looked up at Angela guiltily. "Well, a little while after you left, Booth came into my room to talk to me", she began.

"Sweetie, did you make fun of him again? You know he hates that", Angela cut in.

"No, all I did was correct him about some irrational beliefs that he has, in an attempt to see the world in a more realistic light", Brennan argued.

"Telling him God doesn't exist again? Well, that's nothing new. Why isn't he here, then?" Angela asked.

"Well, it wasn't just God, Ange. He was also talking about love and..."

"LOVE???!!! Sweetie, you didn't tell him love didn't exist, did you? What else did he say?"

"Well, I told him that love was just a release of endorphins, it didn't really exist. And then Booth told me that it did exist, because otherwise he couldn't love me, and then I told him..."

"He told you that he LOVES YOU???? And you told him what????!!!!!!" Angela screamed at the top of her lungs.

"That it didn't exist, it was just a release of endorphins", Brennan replied. Angela pushed away from her and just stared at her. "Booth then told me that if love didn't exist, then he couldn't possibly love me, so he didn't have feelings for me, and then he left", Brennan re-told the story.

"Sweetie, how could you do that to Booth? You would have just crushed his heart by saying that! You have to get him back!" Angela yelped.

"Well, OK, Ange, but I still believe that love doesn't exist", Brennan said.

"You **will** change your mind by the time you and Booth are back together", Angela told her.

**1 week later**

Brennan held put the sliver of bone under the microscope, and barely registered the familiar beep of someone's card being swiped.

She felt a tap on her shoulder. She spun around, nearly knocking over Sully in the process.

"Sully? What are you doing here?" Brennan asked.

"We have a case, Tempe. Come on, let's get moving", Sully replied.

"What happened to Booth?" Brennan asked, confused.

"He told the Director that you two couldn't work together any more, so you should be re-assigned. The Director remembered that we had worked together well before, so he assigned me to be your FBI agent", Sully told her. "Booth will still help on the cases, but I'll be your partner now".

"Oh, OK, then", Brennan said, half-heartedly. "I've just got to go and talk to Angela for a second".

"OK", Sully agreed. "But just make it quick".

Brennan ran to the Angelator, where Angela was doing a facial reconstruction on a Limbo victim.

"Hey, sweetie, is Booth back yet?" Angela asked her.

"No, Ange, Booth told the FBI director that we couldn't work together any more, so the director re-assigned me to Sully. Booth will still help, but apparently Sully is my partner now!" Brennan rushed. "And now we've got a case, so we have to go".

"Oh my gosh, sweetie, I'm so sorry. I'll have to talk to you later then, but this is awful! After all my planning to get you and Booth together! No! I won't allow it. I'll see you later!" Angela called as Brennan hurried out the door to join Sully.

Brennan caught up with Sully, as he put the hand on the small of her back, guiding her out the door, the same place where Booth always put his hand. Feeling Sully do it felt strange, and she wasn't comfortable with the concept. She wanted to work with Booth, but she knew that Booth was right, they couldn't work together anymore without their relationship affecting the way they work.

They reached the car, and Sully pulled out of the car spot, thinking one thought over and over again.

'_Booth had his chance, but he stuffed it up. She'll get over what I did, and come back to me. She's mine now'._

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**Reviews rock my world... I'll post the next chapter when I get the chance. It might be a bit longer because I have less time, coz of school, but I'll update as soon as I can.**


	3. Plotting

Brennan and Sully arrived at the crime scene, a body found in the woods. Forest animals had not left much of the body, and there was little chance that fingerprints, dental records, or facial reconstructions could help identify the victim, as the victim was missing his head, both arms, on leg, and various size chunks of his torso, or what was left of it.

The clothes on the victim were ripped, courtesy of the animals, but on the ground underneath the victim, they found a wallet with driver's license, medical card, and other cards with identification. They took the body back to the Jeffersonian, where Brennan matched an old leg break to confirm the victim as Peter Hatler.

An interview of Peter's brother revealed little, but when they interviewed his girlfriend, she confessed immediately, scoffing that she was pleased he was dead.

Glad as Brennan was to have solved a case quickly, she was even happier to have an excuse to stay away from Sully, even though Booth and her were no longer together, she still did not want to go back on her word that she wouldn't go back to Sully. Not that she wanted to, it was simply another reason not to get involved with him again.

That didn't seem to stop Sully however, as he quickly asked Brennan if she wanted to go to the diner with him. She quickly came up with an excuse; she had paperwork that she hadn't finished. Sully didn't seem to take no for an answer, however.

"Come on, Tempe, it's not like that paperwork can't wait until tomorrow. Relax, work normal hours, eat dinner. It's not that's bad, I promise you. Was I wrong that the sausage and peppers was the best sandwich ever?" Sully needled.

She sidestepped past him and walked into office, locking the door behind her. She had gotten through half the stack of paperwork when the door opened. Brennan looked up in surprise, expecting to see Sully, but she relaxed when she saw Angela standing at the door.

"How did you get in?" Brennan asked. "Didn't I lock the door properly?"

"No, sweetie, you locked the door, but bobby pins are useful for more than just your hair. I picked the lock", Angela replied.

"So, have you heard from Booth yet?" Angela asked.

Brennan shook her head, and Angela looked crestfallen. "I was sure he'd call you, Bren, if not to explain the whole situation of Sully himself".

"Well, I guess he had better things to do with his time", Brennan told her. "Sully wanted me to go to the diner with him for dinner, but I used this old paperwork as an excuse to get rid of him".

"Good job, sweetie. I guess he still wants you back, and he's not going to stop until he gets you back. Did you see Booth at all on the case?"

"No", Brennan told her. "It was a fairly straightforward case, and Booth was only going to help if we got stuck, or had a ridiculous amount of suspects".

"You need to get him back, sweetie!!! I didn't bug you to go out with him for four years, only for you to throw it away with your fancy science talk", Angela yelled.

"It wasn't fancy science talk, it was informing him of the facts and you didn't bug me, there were no bugs involved, you simply told me that I should go out with him", Brennan said, looking confused.

"Sweetie, bugging is a term used to describe someone repeatedly telling someone to do something, like hassling. It's a colloquialism", Angela replied.

"Oh. Well, I suppose it was rather silly to drive him away with something small like that", Brennan said.

'_When will she ever learn?_' Angela thought. "Something small? He told you he loved you. Sweetie, that is something rather large, not small. The man told you... well, I suppose its useless trying to explain feelings to you. You'll learn eventually", Angela told her.

"But what can I do? Booth has tried to get out of my life", Brennan moped.

"Well, considering what you said, I don't think he'll just accept an apology. Booth is a different sort of man to the ones who accept apologies. I think... he's the sort of man who will try and get you back if he realises his mistake. He's on man of action; he'll try get you back if he thinks he's really losing you for good".

"But how do I get him to realise that?" Brennan asked, looking thoughtful, but not coming up with any ideas.

"If you moved on, sweetie. I don't think he'd just accept that lying down", Angela said, with a little grin on her face.

"But I don't want to move on just yet, Ange", Brennan said. "That won't work".

Angela just raised an eyebrow at her friend. "Sweetie, you don't actually have to move on. Just make him think that", Angela said, with a positively evil grin now covering her face.

"How do I make him think that?" Brennan asked, still looking confused.

"Be in a relationship that doesn't mean anything. Make him jealous. When he comes back, end the fake relationship", Angela told her, still grinning, now with a grin worthy of the Cheshire Cat.

"But with who? How do you know Booth will come back just because I'm dating someone", Brennan asked.

"Not just _anyone_, Bren. Use Sully. The guy's eager enough. It'll be easy to snag him!" Angela yelled.

"Not so loud, Ange", Brennan said, covering her ears. "But I don't want to date Sully".

"You don't actually have to be serious. Just pretend you are, and then find Booth, and show him you look serious. He'll come back soon enough".

Angela took Brennan back to her apartment, Brennan pondering the idea. Once she reached her apartment building, she was grinning almost as widely as Angela.

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**Evil plan.... one of my specialities...**

**Reviews are love. Spread the love!**

**Special mention to my English teacher, who makes a special appearance in this chapter as the murder victim! This is not in an affectionate way! But its fiction, so oh well!**


	4. Putting the Plan into Action

**Sorry it took so long to update, I've been at school... and been busy.**

Brennan moved around her office, not really thinking about the tasks she was doing. Her mind was on the plan that Angela had cooked up. She really wanted to make it up to Booth, but she wasn't good at manipulation, and she didn't know whether she be around Booth and Sully at the same time, without telling one or both of them the plan.

"Are you busy?" A voice in the doorway made her look up, forcing the plan from her mind momentarily. Sully stood in the doorway, a grin on his face. He looked so smug that Brennan wanted to go wipe it off his face. For good. But then the plan would be ruined, and she wouldn't have a way of getting Booth back. So she forced a smile onto her face.

"Hey, Sully, what's up?" Brennan asked.

"I was just wondering if you were busy tonight, because I know this great place that sells this really great fish, and I've been meaning to try it out, but I don't want to look silly, going in there all by myself. Would you like to join me? Strictly as partners, as we're working together", Sully said.

"Oh, that's really.... ummm... errrr... why not", Brennan replied hastily.

"So I'll pick you up at 7. Wear something nice, it's a nice restaurant", Sully called over his shoulder, already walking away. _'Now to very subtly announce it to the whole building that Tempe and I are going on a date. I can't wait to see Booth's face',_ Sully thought.

Angela hurried into Brennan's office, as soon as she had seen that Sully was out of earshot.

"Did he ask you out? Because if he did, then this is a perfect time to put the plan into action! So you did say yes, right?" Angela hurriedly asked.

"Yes, I accepted", Brennan told her. "I wasn't going to, but I couldn't think of a decent reason of why not to, so I accepted".

Angela hugged her. "Now we just need to find a perfect way for Sully to think you really like him, but not too much. Also so that Booth can see you".

The two friends spent the rest of the time discussing and planning exactly what Brennan should wear, talk about, etc.

Meanwhile, at the FBI building, Sully strode towards his office with a cocky grin on his face. He quickly stopped to see if Booth was in the small crowd of people watching the football game on TV. He was. Sully smirked, and strode right through them, to the coffee maker near the TV. When his cup had brewed, he turned around, with the same grin still on his face. No-one really noticed him, and Sully figured Booth was probably avoiding his gaze. But one of the rookie agents glanced towards him for a second, and noticed the grin plastered all over his face.

"Hey Sully, you look like you've just won the lottery, what's up?" The rookie asked. And **that** got everyone's attention. Booth glanced over for a second.

"Do we have a case or something, Sully? Or did you catch the bad guy without me?" Booth asked sullenly.

"Oh no, nothing like that", Sully announced over the top of the football.

"What, you got a hot date tonight?" the rookie asked.

"Something like that", Sully said. "She's pretty goddamned hot, isn't she Booth?"

At that point everyone turned to look at Booth, who looked just as confused as everyone else did.

"What the hell are you talking about Sully? You waltz in her, announce you've got a date. Good for you. How am I supposed to know if she's hot or not?" Booth shot at him.

"Well, I doubt you would have dated Tempe if you didn't think she was hot", Sully calmly said, the hugest smirk on his face at this point.

At that moment, one of the teams scored on the screen, and the men in the building erupted in a mix of cheers and boos. Sully just waited until they had finished, and looked for Booth. Smugly, he noticed that Booth was no longer anywhere to be seen.

Angela took Brennan back to her apartment, where she raided her wardrobe. She pulled out the Roxie dress from Vegas.

"How about this, it screams hot", Angela asked. Brennan considered it, but shook her head. That dress was really for her and Booth, it didn't feel right for anything else.

Angela held up clothes, examining them, and mostly tossed them onto a pile on Brennan's bed. She finally held up a simple red dress. When Brennan tried it on, it hugged her well, but she didn't think that it looked as good on her as the Roxie dress did.

Angela agreed, and set about choosing accessories. Ten minutes before Sully was due to pick her up, Angela gave her some final words of warning.

"Look, sweetie, no matter how hard he pushes you, don't go too far. You want Booth back", Angela told her.

Just then, the doorbell rang, and Angela opened the door to reveal Sully, standing with a bunch of flowers, a grin still on his face.

"Hey, Tempe. Wow, you look hot tonight", Sully told her, handing her the flowers and kissing her cheek.

"Thanks, Angela helped me. So, what have we got planned for tonight?" Brennan asked him.

"Well, I thought we might head over to this really great seafood restaurant. They have lovely food, but their dessert leaves a lot to be desired, so I thought we'd swing by the diner to buy a piece of pie afterwards", Sully said.

"Won't there be... lots of people at the diner?" Brennan asked nervously, both wanting Booth to see her and Sully, and dreading it at the same time.

"Well, maybe, but I don't know if Booth will be there, he didn't seem too happy when I told him" Sully replied.

Brennan let Sully escort her through the door, all the while the feeling of dread building inside her. _'He told Booth already? The pig. I don't really want to see him tonight, even though the plan needs it'_.

And as Brennan walked out the door, her heart sank with every step.

**Well... what do you think? Press the little green button and review. I promise the next chapter will be up soon.**

**Love to all you reviewers.**


	5. The Date

Booth sat in his office, head in his hands. He had wanted to throttle Sully when he announced to the whole group of people. How dare he? He had thought that Brennan, at least, would take more than a week or so to get over him. Maybe come to him to apologise. But never had he expected this. After she had told him that she wouldn't go back to Sully, that he had abandoned her, and she wouldn't give him a second chance.

Knowing Sully, he would probably take Brennan to some fancy restaurant, and then still try to rub it in his face. He had thought that Sully was one of the good guys. Good for Brennan, at least before he had left her. But he hadn't believed that he could be quite that conceited, quite that smug.

Sighing, he checked the clock. It was after 8, and he hadn't moved in over 4 hours. He had just sat there, thinking about Bones. **His** Bones. Not Sully's Bones. He was just sitting there, head in hands, when he realised that he needed to get home. Maybe he would stop by the diner first, though. The pie was great comfort food. Even better than chocolate and ice cream. He grabbed his jacket and walked out of the building.

Sully sat at the table, across from Brennan, thanking his good fortune. She looked so sexy, sitting across from him. And after their date was over, they would go back to where they had left off. She might a bit hesitant, but he would soon charm her to bend to his will. He hoped that Booth would be at the diner. Then he could show off Brennan even more. He might kiss her neck, or cheek, or he might well just go ahead and kiss her on the lips. He had missed Booth's expression earlier today, and he desperately wanted to see Booth's expression tonight.

Brennan sat at the table, across from Sully, cursing her bad fortune. He looked so smug, sitting across from her. After their date was over, he would probably try and start where they had left off. She had a bad feeling that they were headed to the diner so that Sully could show her off to everyone there. He might try to kiss her. Even though she was trying to be in character, she shuddered at the thought. Sully noticed and looked slightly concerned.

"What's wrong, Tempe, are you cold?" Sully asked her, his face the picture of innocence.

He offered her his coat, and despite her best intentions, she accepted, all the while only thinking of getting Booth back. She had wanted to just apologise, but she admitted that Angela had a point. Booth wasn't the sort of man to just her apologise and pretend nothing had happened. And as much as it pained her to admit, Angela had probably come up with the best plan to get him back. Brennan had seen firsthand what Booth would do for her, and she knew that if anything had the chance of getting him back, this was it. So she had to play along.

She was grateful when the food arrives, as she could eat and pretend that she couldn't talk due to the food in her mouth. Sully was relentless though. Eventually she had to engage in conversation, as she was running out of food.

They talked about the most recent case, the one with Peter Hatler. Sully mentioned that Peter's girlfriend had asked to see him, and told him that she only killed him because she came across him reading poetry to a young girl named Katie Jones, with a lovestruck expression on his face. She had suspected him of cheating, but rather than confronting him, had killed him. She had accepted her sentence, but needed someone to at least hear her reasoning. Brennan didn't like the woman, but accepted her story, as that was exactly what her plan was based on. She didn't necessarily want Sully dead, but she wouldn't exactly mind if Booth killed him.

They finished their meal, and Sully paid for it. Brennan tried to insist that she was full, and didn't really need dessert. But Sully didn't accept no for an answer, and drove to the diner.

Sully smiled as he looked at Brennan sitting next to him, desperately hoping that Booth would be at the diner. After all, where else would he be? He had mentioned before that their pie was great comfort food, and he definitely would need comfort after he found out that Sully and Brennan were dating again. This was just one step in a series of many, but Sully thought this would be a great way to rub it in Booth's face.

Brennan grimaced as she looked at Sully sitting next to her, desperately hoping that Booth wouldn't be at the diner. But unfortunately, she realised, where else would he be? He had mentioned before that their pie was great comfort food, and he would definitely need comfort after he found out that she and Sully were dating again. She suspected that Sully had done this intentionally, just to rub it in Booth's face. A small part of her still wanted Booth at the diner, so that he would get angry, and fight for Brennan. And she wouldn't exactly be resisting that.

As they pulled up at the diner, both Brennan and Sully craned their necks, to see if Booth was in there. They didn't see him, but that didn't mean a lot, as it was getting dark, and not all of the diner was visible from where they were parked.

As they walked into the diner, Sully slung his arm around Brennan's shoulder, and Brennan realised she was still wearing Sully's coat, which seemed like a very couple-y thing to do.

Booth looked up from his pie, as he heard the bell above the door sound. Two very familiar figures walked into the diner, and Booth looked up, thinking maybe it was Hodgins and Angela. His heart sank when he recognised the smug look on the man's face, and he recognised the walk of the woman. He turned away from Sully and Brennan, trying to block Brennan's image out of his mind. She looked incredibly sexy, in a figure hugging dress, and she was wearing Sully's coat, which seemed like a very couple-y thing.

Sully erupted in a huge smirk when he saw Booth at the counter, with a slice of pie in front of him. He saw Booth look at him, a mixture of shock, disappointment and hurt crossing his face before he turned away. Sully grinned inwardly. He had been right. The look on Booth's face had been priceless.

Brennan's inwardly groaned when she saw Booth at the counter, with a slice of pie in front of him. When she saw Booth turn away, she felt ashamed of her plan, but it was too late to go back, and Sully steered her over to where Booth was sitting.

"Hey, Booth, what are you doing here?" Sully asked, his voice sounding as smug as the look on his face.

Booth turned back towards them, his face a blank mask. "Nothing much, Sully. Just sitting here enjoying the fabulous pie. How was your date?"

"Oh, it's not quite over yet, but so far it's been wonderful", Brennan replied, trying to provoke him.

"That's good. I'll just get out of your way, I now how annoyed you two were when I interrupted when were on the boneless girl case", Booth said, standing up to leave.

Sully smirked when he saw Booth walk out. Brennan felt incredibly guilty, and Booth just felt sadness well up inside him as he walked out the door, away from Brennan, his one true love, leaving her in his worst nightmare.

**Dun, dun, dun... dramatic I know, but its fun to end things that way.**

**Everyone be friendly and press that little green button... or you won't find out what happens nest * ****gasp ***

**By the way, my English teacher did actually read poetry to my friend Katie, it was really funny.**


	6. Forgetting Booth

Brennan was not in the least surprised when Sully quickly grabbed their pie and headed outside, now that there was no Booth to torture. She half-heartedly tried to protest that they stay in the diner to eat their, if only to prolong going home, where she didn't really want to be kissed, or pushed any further. But Sully was halfway out the door, and she didn't really want to stay in the diner by herself, so she had no choice but to follow him. She got into the car with a sinking heavy as Sully pulled out of the parking spot.

Sully glanced sideways at Brennan, almost licking his lips at what he thought would come when he took Brennan home. She might try to push him away, say it was only their first date, but Sully was determined to start where they had left off. In a matter of minutes, they had pulled up to Brennan's apartment, and she jumped up and practically ran up to her apartment. Sully cursed, and headed up after her, and reached her just as she moved inside and tried to close the door. Sully caught his foot in it and reached in towards her.

"Why in such a hurry, Tempe?" Sully asked, trying to push the door open.

"I'm tired, Sully, please go away, I'll see you tomorrow", Brennan replied hastily, trying to push the door closed.

"Well, I thought we could start where we had left off", Sully told her, and he saw the flicker of reluctance in her eyes. Which was why what she did next surprised him completely. She pushed him out of the door, crushing her lips against his. He relaxed and kissed back and then... moved back. Which was exactly Brennan had been planning. As soon as his foot was clear of the doorway, she broke the kiss and slammed the door shut before Sully could realise what was going on.

Sully heard the distinctive click of the door being locked, and cursed himself for being so stupid. But overall, for him, it had not been a bad night. He had had a nice meal, hurt Booth, and if not starting where they had left off, he had still gotten a pretty damned good kiss from her. And with that thought in mind he strode off back to his car.

Brennan leant against the door, breathing heavily. She knew it had been the only way to get rid of Sully, but that kiss had brought back old times. Good times. **Really** good times. She was finding it difficult to remember how it had been with Booth, and despite her intentions, she had enjoyed the kiss. Trying to shake the thought out of her mind, she went off to call Angela.

Booth still hadn't moved from his car space, he had just sat there. He knew that Sully would try to rub it in his face, but he didn't think that Brennan would be like that. But then again, she had always seemed to the exact opposite of his expectations. He turned the engine on and slowly pulled out of his car spot.

The next day Brennan awoke with a start, and immediately checked beside her on the bed. Good, Sully wasn't there. She groaned as memories of the night before came back, and try as she might, she just couldn't picture her and Booth when they had last been together. She had never been into fate or intuition, but there a small voice in her head, telling her that there was a reason she couldn't remember her and Booth together. Reluctantly, she got out of bed, still trying to think of Booth, with no luck.

Sully awoke with a start, and immediately checked beside him on the bed. Damn, Brennan wasn't there. He grinned as memories of the night before came back. He was a lucky bastard. He had always been able to charm people to his will, and he had no doubt that before long Tempe wouldn't be resisting at all. He got out of bed, ready to tell everyone (and mainly Booth) the details of the night before, maybe with some... **slight** exaggerations on the ending.

Booth awoke with a start, and didn't even bother checking the bed beside him. He already knew that Brennan wouldn't be there. And he had no doubt that Sully would be parading around, constantly repeating all the details of the night. He thought about calling in sick, but reluctantly got out of bed. He would just lock himself inside his office, where Sully couldn't get to him. He might still let Booth know through the words of others, but it couldn't possibly be as bad as Sully gloating himself.

When Brennan reached the Jeffersonian, Angela was already there waiting for her.

"Sweetie! How was it? What happened? Did he try to get in your pants? Even though you were wearing a dress, its, you know, the expression. Was Booth there? Tell all", she rushed out, and Brennan had to take a moment to process it all. Brennan recounted the tale, and Angela smirked at the ending. "That's my girl", when Brennan told her how she had gotten rid of Sully.

"But, Ange, I really didn't enjoy it that much, but now I can't remember being with Booth properly", Brennan told her. Even as Angela responded, Brennan's mind blocked out the words, trying to process everything. What if her mind was intentionally blocking out the memories of Booth? She didn't believe in subliminal messages, but could it be possible that her subconscious self wanted to be with Sully? She decided to test the theory later.

Sully was looking around the building for Booth, and suspected that he had locked himself inside his office to avoid Sully, which made him grin. He went to his office, where he planned to call Brennan to set up a date later tonight, where he wouldn't be so easy to get rid of.

When the phone rang, Brennan checked the caller ID and saw it was Sully. Angela shook her head, to advise her not to pick up the phone, but Brennan ignored her and answered it. When she accepted the offer for a date later that night, Angela just shook her head.

"I know you like the plan, sweetie, but you don't have to overdo it", she told Brennan. Again, Brennan ignored her.

Later that night, true to his words, Sully wasn't that easy to get rid of, but his time, Brennan didn't try to protest. All she could think of was whether she and Booth were never meant to be. As Sully kissed her neck and they moved into the bedroom, Brennan was almost disappointed that she thoroughly enjoyed herself, but she believed that this meant that she and Sully were better together than she and Booth had ever been. And giving herself to Sully, she didn't think of Booth for the rest of the night.

**I know, I'm so mean to Booth, but what's a good story without a good twist?**

**Press the little green button and review... it would mean so much... that my story is appreciated.**


	7. Angela vs Sully

**Soz would have updated b4 but the site had a "technical glitch"**

When Sully appeared at her door the next day, Brennan no longer felt a jolt of disgust. But she was disappointed not to see a small cheeky smile on his face, as has been custom the last few weeks. Instead, Sully looked disappointed and hurt.

"What's wrong?" Brennan asked, inviting him in with her eyes.

"Booth, well, I can't prove it was Booth, but, well, _someone_ leaked to Director Cullen that you and I were seeing each other again", Sully admitted.

"So? You don't like your director to know about your personal life? Well, I can understand that, but does it really matter?" Brennan asked, confused.

"Well, the FBI doesn't technically allow personal relationships between partners. So, we can't work together anymore", Sully said, his eyes full of concern, also something else. A mixture of jealousy and hate.

"So who will I be working with?" Brennan asked. She had registered that it was probably Booth, but since he had requested that they not work together, she wasn't completely certain.

"The department didn't really want to go against Booth's request, but given your track record, they assigned Booth to you again", Sully spat out. Brennan then understood the jealousy and hate.

"Well, it doesn't matter. We'll still see plenty of each other after cases", Brennan told, moving forward to gently brush his lips.

"That's my Tempe", Sully told her, and before Brennan could comment on the improper use of the word 'my', she wasn't a possession, she was a human being. But at that moment, Booth knocked on the door hesitantly, and it shocked Brennan. He had never bothered knocking, he had used to barge into her office to interrupt anything she was doing. He avoided her gaze as he spoke.

"Come on Dr. Brennan, we got ourselves a dead body", Booth said softly. Angela, who was passing by at the time he said that, looked up in complete surprise. She had never heard him speak in a voice that was so resigned, so... depressed. She tried to grab Brennan as she left the office, but Brennan pushed past her to get her things. This was totally unlike her. Not to mention him. Dr. Brennan? He hadn't called her that in over 4 years, not to her face, just as an introduction. And she hadn't even stopped to talk to her. Angela made a pact to talk to Brennan at the earliest possible time. Their plan seemed to be failing miserably, and Brennan seemed to have forgotten about it completely.

As Booth and Brennan left, she was left staring into Brennan's empty office. Empty except for Sully. As Sully tried to leave, Angela grabbed his arm, and pushed him back into the office, pushed him up against a wall.

"Look, Angela, I'm touched, but I really do value my relationship with Tempe too much to cheat on her", Sully said.

Angela was appalled. She tried to slap him, but both hands were occupied pinning Sully against the wall. And true to her word, she spat, with deadly accuracy, right into Sully's left eye, and then released and watched him squirm.

"Look, I don't know what your problem is, but you are the _last_ guy I would ever go out with. Maybe not the last guy, but pretty close to the bottom of the list. I think you're scum, just so we can get that straight. And Booth is better for her than you ever were. He stuck by her. And I'm not about to let you ruin that", Angela told him.

"I'm not really sure that is your choice. Tempe made her choice", Sully said, with a smirk on his face.

"She didn't choose you for the reasons you think, you loser. And when I remind her, you won't last very long. You underestimate my influence on her", Angela glared at him.

"No, I think _you_ underestimate _my_ influence. Sometimes... certain things... can be more sacred than a simple friendship", Sully shot back.

Angela looked horrified, and slapped him as hard as she could. And she stalked out of Brennan's office, leaving Sully cradling his cheek, where a large red mark was clearly visible.

Arriving at the crime scene, Booth seemed a lot more like his normal self. They had barely talked in the car on the way over, but now there were other people around, Booth could talk to them instead of Brennan.

Seeing him in their normal environment, the plan she hadn't thought of in weeks floated across her brain. But she knew that the plan was probably hopeless now, she wasn't just using Sully to get Booth jealous now, she had seen him a lot, and Booth had just avoided them. She felt disgusted with herself. She had promised Booth, the man she loved, that Sully meant nothing to her. She could finally admit to herself that she loved him. She had made up all her scientific sounding reasoning because she was too afraid to admit to herself, and to Booth, that she felt the same way. She didn't want to become dependent.

But who would take her back now? She wouldn't take herself back if she had treated herself the way that she had treated Booth. She mulled, a concept that was entirely new to her, before she had always considered it a waste of time.

She had finally admitted to herself that being with Booth, or at the very least, being friendly with Booth, was the most important thing to her. But she had never had the best mind when it came to relationships. She should try to at least mend the rift that had formed between her and Booth, and then ask Angela for advice.

Screw the plan, and just break up with Sully in a place where Booth could clearly see? Or flaunt her relationship with Sully right under his nose, tauntingly? She wasn't sure, but her first step was definitely to be on talking terms with him.

Later that night, when she met up with Sully, she no longer felt any of the attraction she had ever felt towards him. She felt like she had when she had first met him. She was missing being with Booth, and wasn't sure whether she could really take Sully seriously. He was acting smug that night, not even bothering to converse or compliment her. He just expected that she was going to enjoy himself. And that thought alone gave Brennan comfort. Booth had avoided her, despite her best efforts, but her thought comforted her. Sully expected. And that would be his downfall.

**Less evil now, aren't I? More will be up soon.**


	8. Booth Turns Around

**So sorry it's taken so long to update, but here's new chapter**

Booth turned around in his bed, despite trying; his thoughts were still resolutely on Brennan. She had tried to talk to him while solving the case, he had noticed. He figured she was just trying to humour him, she probably thought it had been him who had ratted on Sully. And that concerned him. It hadn't been him, no matter how much everyone else believed it. But he had many friends inside the FBI, friends who knew how much he still cared for Brennan. And none of the guys in the FBI really got along with Sully now. Not after he had been so full of himself when he told everyone about him and Brennan. They respected Booth more than they did Sully, and that, at least, had been a small victory for Booth.

The next morning, Booth rolled out of bed, trying, once again, to not think about Brennan, as he got dressed for work. While he got himself some breakfast, he couldn't help hoping that there wasn't a case that day. He didn't know if he could face her.

As his car pulled into the parking lot, Booth looked around to see the familiar faces moving around, all filing into the building. One familiar face was getting closer, and it was not a face that Booth was happy to see. Sully knocked on Booth's car window and gestured for him to get out. Booth knew that Sully would try to pick a fight, so Booth opened to door and sidestepped quickly, anticipating Sully's punch even before he threw it. As a result, Sully's fist went flying into the car door, and as he buckled over in pain, Booth locked the car, and walked quickly into the building, not bothering to suppress the grin that had crept over his face.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, but it wasn't the normal joking hand of one of his buddies, but a smaller hand, slighter. He turned to see Agent Perotta, a confused look on her face. She pulled him into her office and stared at him.

"I saw what you did to Agent Sullivan back there", she said, arching an eyebrow.

"I technically didn't do anything", Booth replied. "He threw a punch and I dodged it. That's not exactly my fault".

"But you left him there when he was hurt, and I seriously doubt that he felt like punching someone up, and you just happened to be the first person that he saw", Perotta shot back.

"Well..." Booth tried to come up with a response, but he couldn't come up with anything.

The look on her face softened, and she looked away. "I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing that whatever went down between you two had something to do with Dr. Brennan", she said.

Booth looked surprised. He hadn't realised that everything had been quite THAT obvious between them. Though, he reasoned, Sully hadn't exactly been hiding anything. And he found himself unloading everything on Perotta, telling her almost everything. When he finished, he felt out of breath. Looking into Perotta's eyes, he drew closer, until his lips gently brushed hers. She pulled back surprised, and looked slightly unhappy.

"Oh, I'm so sorry; I don't know what came over me, ummm... if it made you uncomfortable at all..." Booth trailed off.

"It's totally fine, I mean... I enjoyed it, but... after what you just said, you must still really love Dr. Brennan, and well, you should be out there chasing Dr. Brennan rather than in here doing.... well, you know", she told him earnestly.

"But she told me she didn't believe in love, and she's seeing Sully", he replied sullenly.

"It's Dr. Brennan. Are you really telling me you've been her partner for four years, and not realised that she doesn't know anything when it comes to things like emotions. You two... you have something special, but she can't realise that. You have to chase her. I'm sure she didn't mean for it to come out like it did", Perotta told him. "Sully's just a rebound thing, I'm sure of it".

"But it's not like it's the first time she'd seen Sully. She saw him long before she ever got with me", Booth told her.

"But she swore to you that he didn't mean anything to her. You know her, I'm sure she had some super rational reason to say that, just like she probably has a super rational reason for dating him now, one that probably doesn't involve her loving him. I've seen enough of life to see when people are in love, and I can see you're still in love with her, and I bet if I saw her, I'd see the same thing", she said, smiling. Then she turned and walked out of her office, leaving him alone in it.

He put his head in his hands, and then stood up and speed walked to his office. He had just reached it, about to call the Jeffersonian when the phone started to ring. He picked it up, surprised to hear Angela's voice on the other end of the line. She started to talk immediately, and as she talked, Booth felt his heart lift, until it was near where it used to be. Angela had told him everything about 'the plan' and her suspicions about Brennan starting to like Sully again.

"And I really don't know why I even thought that the plan was such a good idea. I thought that you would think that she was only coming back because I told her to, and she didn't really get it. I thought that this way, you would notice quickly, and you would more willingly go back. But I didn't count on Brennan giving up, or you being so stubborn. But it's mainly my fault, and I really want to get Brennan away from that creep so if you can find it in your heart to.... please forgive her.... and me too", Angela finished.

Booth thanked her and hung up, a spring in his step that hadn't been there in a long time, and he walked purposefully towards the parking lot, Perotta and Angela's words on his mind.

**Hopefully there should be up soon.**


	9. Confusion

**New chapter, story should be nearing the end soon.**

Brennan stared at the report she was supposed to be reading, mindlessly rereading the same line five times before abandoning the task. Her mind wasn't on the report, so there wasn't a lot of point in trying to pursue it. Her mind was on Sully, the last time they had been together. He hadn't really made an effort to please her, which turned her mind back to Booth. She kept hoping for another case to turn up, but nothing seemed to be happening. It seemed as if the one time she wanted something to happen, all the murderers in the DC area decided to take a vacation. She looked at the phone, willing it to ring, if only to take her mind off things.

Just then, there was a knock on her office door, and it jolted her out of her thoughts, making her jump. Angela poked her head in the door, looking concerned. Brennan gestured for her to come in, and Angela moved tentatively forward.

"What's wrong?" Brennan asked. She had never known her friend to be that tentative before.

"Well, sweetie, don't get angry with me, but I think that it's time to scrap our plan", Angela said hesitantly.

"Oh", Brennan replied, sounding relieved. "Is that all? I was just thinking the same thing. But if we do, I would have no idea what to do next".

"Well, since I already called Booth and told him everything and..." Angela trailed off. "I probably shouldn't have told you that".

"You already told him?" Brennan asked, sounding incredulous. "You didn't think it would be better if I told him?"

"Well, sweetie, no offence, but you seemed to be getting caught up with Sully, and you didn't rally seem to be making any effort at getting Booth's attention, and since the two of you are awful at letting each other how you feel, so I told him".

Brennan looked at her friends face, and softened. "I'm sorry for getting annoyed. I just... don't really know how to explain it".

"You love him, sweetie. It's pretty clear to everyone else around you, but you just seem to have trouble grasping the concept".

Brennan bit her upper lip in concentration. "I admitted that to myself, but I don't know how easy it will be admitting it to him".

Angela just smiled knowingly, and turned to leave. "I bet he's already on his way here, so you won't have to wait long", Angela said over her shoulder, and with that she walked out, grinning wildly, leaving Brennan in her thoughts.

Her thoughts were fairly predictable. She thought about Booth, and whether he would forgive her. Then her thoughts turned to what Angela had talked about. "...getting caught up with Sully..." She didn't know whether it was true, but as she reflected, she supposed it was, there had been points where she had totally forgotten about Booth when she was with Sully. Did she really like Sully? She had told Booth that he had meant nothing to her, but that whole conversation now seemed very untrue, considering what she had said to him, and how it had ended. She knew she would have to face these questions eventually, but she tried to push them further back in her mind, not thinking for a second that they would come back to haunt her.

Booth yelled in exasperation at the umpteenth red light that had stopped on his way to the Jeffersonian. He was seriously tempted to turn on his siren, and get there as fast as possible, but, no, there were rules against using the siren inappropriately. As he watched the stream of cars moving across the lane in front of him, he came to a decision. Screw the rules. Flicking the button, the lights began to flash and the siren began to wail, and slowly, the traffic going the other way slowed to a stop, and Booth pulled forward. Still driving, he leant back contentedly. There were still some perks to being an FBI agent. Smiling, he continued to the Jeffersonian, not noticing the car right behind him, making the same turns he did, following his path exactly, a car carrying one very pissed off, and very worried man.

As he reached the Jeffersonian, he parked his car and sprinted into the building, the person in the car behind him followed him, both men thinking about what they were going to say, both not considering that Brennan would choose the other.

Booth strode into the Jeffersonian, Sully following close behind, both striding purposefully towards Brennan's office. By the time they both reached it, Booth had noticed Sully, and they took a second to glare at each other before bursting into her office. Brennan looked up in surprise, registering both men. She smiled, then frowned, then a mix of emotions went across her face, ending in confusion. Both men realised at the same time, and their faces fell. It was clear to both of them the exact meaning of Brennan's confusion. All three had thought it would be simple, but now, at judgement time, Brennan really didn't know where her heart was. She didn't know who to choose.

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